Abstract:Objective To evaluate the role of autophagy in doxorubicin-induced apoptosis of Raji cells.Methods Raji cells were treated with different concentrations of doxorubicin. Western blotting analysis was used to observe the expression of autophagy-related protein during doxorubicin-induced cell death, and MDC staining was applied to detect autophgosomes and autolysosomes in Raji cells. Cell viability and apoptosis of Raji cells were examined by MTT assay and flow cytometry after the cells were treated with doxorubicin in combination with PI3K pathway inhibitor 3-MA or autolysosome inhibitor NH4Cl. Results Doxorubicin treatment significantly increased LC3Ⅱ expression and the intensity of MDC staining in Raji cells compared with the control group (P<0.05),indicating that doxorubicin can induce autophagy of Raji cells. Compared with the control group, doxorubicin treatment significantly inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis of Raji cells (P<0.01). PI3K pathway inhibitor 3-MA or autolysosome inhibitor NH4Cl further enhanced the efficacy of doxorubicin in inhibiting cell growth and inducing apoptosis of Raji cells(P<0.05, P<0.01).Conclusion Doxorubicin can induce cell autophagy when killing Raji cells, and inhibition of autophagy can enhance the killing effect of doxorubicin against Raji cells.